Gigabyte R9 290X Windforce OC – press sample vs. mass production | Retro 10 years ago

1 - Nachtest mit der Retail-Karte 2 - Temperaturen und Lautstärke 3 - Gaming-Performance und Fazit

Preliminary note

We determine the temperatures with a long loop in Metro Last Light, which should also pretty much correspond to the hardest situation that can occur during gaming in the end. However, depending on the game, these temperatures are often a bit lower.

The answer to the question of what Gigabyte will do with the reserve generated by the lowered voltages was exciting: lower temperatures or less noise? Or maybe even both?

We tested the cards in an open configuration (see previous page) and in parallel in a closed midi case (Enermax Fulmo ST) to get a better comparison between the cards and the respective installed cooling solution. A well-designed case doesn’t necessarily have to lead to a higher operating temperature of a graphics card, unless its cooling solution is an absolute blunder of the cooler developers. Besides, you don’t have to create a hurricane to get good cooling performance even in a closed setup; assuming a suitable case for once.

Temperature development in the diagram

These diagrams illustrate the temperature development, which is influenced by the cooler, fan and the fan profile stored in the respective BIOS. For cards with an announced BIOS update, we will record or update all relevant progressions, as far as this applies. The following values concern the open configuration.

What we see is a slightly lower temperature under load and a slightly changed gradient curve. The curve also looks smoother and more unagitated, which also suggests a slightly changed temperature management:

Fan speeds

The fan speeds, their number, as well as the diameter of the rotor blades mainly determine the noise development. We map this curve for each card individually to maintain clarity.

The fan speeds confirm our assumption from before – Gigabyte has primarily made the card quieter, which was certainly the best decision that could be made in this situation.

Noise development

First, we record the noise levels for the cards in various situations. Measurements are taken with a studio microphone and the calibration that we also use for our PC audio tests. The microphone is aligned perpendicular to the graphics card’s center, and the distance is 50 cm.

This brings us to the next point, namely the gaming performance benchmarks. Please scroll further.